Give your lunch an Eastern flavour with this easy and satisfying main meal salad with tender lamb fillets and filling puy lentils.
Toum is a traditional Middle Eastern garlic sauce similar to mayonnaise but stabilised with garlic instead of egg. It’s also delicious served with grilled vegetables and falafel. To save time you could use a packet of pre-cooked lentils. Serves 4.
To make the Toum (garlic sauce) mix together 150g Greek yogurt, half a lime (juice only) and 3 crushed garlic cloves, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill.
Rinse 200g Puy lentils and drain. Place 500ml fresh beef or chicken stock in a saucepan and add the lentils. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the lentils for 25 mins until tender. Drain, then place in a bowl while you cook the lamb.
Season 4 lamb fillets (approx. 100g each) with salt and pepper and drizzle with 1tbsp of olive oil. Heat a frying pan over a high heat and cook the lamb for 2-3 mins on each side until cooked through but still a little pink in the middle. Place on a board to rest while you prepare the lentil salad.
Add another tbsp. oil to the frying pan with a crushed clove of garlic and 1 deseeded and finely chopped red chilli and sauté for 1 min. Add the lentils, 4 deseeded and finely chopped plum tomatoes and 1 diced red pepper to the pan and stir for 1-2 mins to heat through. Drizzle over 1tbsp apple cider vinegar and season. Remove from the heat and stir in a large handful of chopped basil.
Slice the lamb and place on plates. Serve with the salad and garlic sauce. Add roasted vine tomatoes if you like.
